


is it too much to ask for something great?

by treklinite



Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, au where page 250 is a variable, but i had started writing this before it came out so, in some parts, just a little, they deserve to be happy, this will be so inaccurate if you've read fever code
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-07
Updated: 2016-10-07
Packaged: 2018-08-20 02:07:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8232341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/treklinite/pseuds/treklinite
Summary: Newt thinks about how things will go wrong if he defies Ava's request of keeping his mouth shut, knowing that everything is going to be different if he says anything to Thomas about it. But he wants to, so much, because he can't stand having to see Thomas so crumbled and weakened. But he can't let his feelings interfere with the Trials.





	

"Janson?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"I need you to bring Subject A5 in. Make sure he hears everything I have to say to Thomas."

"Alright, Chancellor Paige. I'll be on my way to the dorms."

A.D. Janson leaves the Chancellor's room with a stride as Ava Paige begins rubbing her knuckles, trying to calm herself down. The Trials aren't supposed to last until after Phase Three, but they have to set up precautions, just in case a blueprint for the cure will not have been obtained by then.

Sometimes she thinks that they're going too far with the Trials. It isn't easy for her to conjure up various Variables — her conscience is still clear, and she knows that the children must not experience any pain. But some situations make it impossible for the to-be Gladers to stay safe and they need to observe their killzone patterns, so it's not like she has a choice.

Just then, the small communication device placed on her wrist beeps.

"I've got Subject A5, ma'am. Should I bring him to you and then return to collect Subject A2?"

Ava gulps.

"Yes, Janson. There's no need to hurry. Just leave him by the door and tell him to come in."

Not long after, the door opens, revealing a handsome blond-haired boy. His eyebrows are creased with confusion and his fingers seem to slightly tremble. Ava gulps at the sight of him as guilt washes over her. He's one of the few Subjects not immune to the Flare, which makes him a vital part of the Trials. Ava found him quite accidentally — she'd sent officials to retrieve his sister but they'd ended up arriving with him in tow — and when Ava first met him, she found everything she was looking for in a Subject: curiosity, protective instincts, and a sense to strive to order. 

A little ironic from someone who is the epitome of disorder.

"Janson said you called for me," says Newt, his voice cracking a little.

"Indeed," says Ava, trying her best to smile. Once again, she feels the same sense of guilt washing over her, especially after noticing the tremble in Newt's voice, but there isn't time for sentiments. They have to keep the Trials going, and that includes creating back-up plans if a Variable or two fails.

"I have a small matter to discuss with you, Newt," says Ava carefully. Newt scratches his head as he steps closer to the Chancellor's desk, his steps getting smaller each time.

"What is it?" he says, sounding like there's something he's hiding — whether it's fear or not, Ava doesn't know.

Ava opens her mouth as she's about to explain the circumstances to Newt but before she could even utter a word, her communication device beeps once again, this time delivering a different message.

"Subject A2 is here, Chancellor. I'll bring him in when you're ready."

Ava looks up at Newt, a pretense of panic etched on her face. Newt seems to falter at the look, his eyebrows creasing even more as he feels his heart thumping rapidly in unexplained shock, and so he mumbles the only word he could think of.

"Thomas?"

Seeing the boy before him lost at words, Ava rises from her desk and drags Newt in a hurried manner to a corner of the room, shielded by an enormous bookshelf, hiding him out of plain sight.

"Stay here, alright? You'll know soon enough."

Newt seems about to protest at that but Ava quickly covers his mouth with one hand, warning him with her eyes not to make another sound. Newt nods weakly, reaching for the shelf behind him, resting his back on it. The Chancellor finally removes her hand from Newt's face, making her way back to the desk.

"I'm ready, Janson," she says after a beep from her communication device. "Bring Thomas in."

The door slides open a second later, revealing a boy with dark hair and thick eyebrows, a trademark rustic blue t-shirt plastered on him. Newt can see him from a gap between two books on the shelf as he tries to reassure himself that this won't be so bad — surely there won't be anything worse than Phase Three of the Trials.

Clearly he is mistaken.

"Please take a seat, Thomas," says the Chancellor, beckoning Thomas to the single armchair before her desk. The boy makes his way to the chair and sits, his fingers dancing on the armrests, clearly on the verge of nerves.

"What do you want, Ava?" says Thomas impatiently. At least he hopes it comes across as impatience — he feels so terrified already, not knowing what else the Chancellor is going to throw at him. He feels once again the same thing he's been feeling for some time now — why did he ever agree on helping these people?

"I just have a tiny detail to discuss," says Ava in a monotonous voice. "I wish to tell you about what will have to happen if we don't have a blueprint by the end of Phase Three.

"As you know already, you'll most likely not be in our hands anymore by then, but we have to be prepared for the worst outcome. There is one thing I'll  
need you to do."

"And that is?" Thomas prods.

Ava swallows, shutting her eyes for a second, trying to get herself together.  
You can't show your weaknesses in front of the children, she thinks, get over yourself. And so she spits out the truth, a game-changer that even she is still dumbfounded to.

"I need you to kill him."

"Him?" Thomas repeats, clearly confused. Newt holds his breath, knots in his stomach, wanting to know who the person Ava's talking about is, wanting to make sure if it's him.

"Subject A5," says Ava, clarifying the announcement. "You need to be the one to kill him, Thomas."

Thomas' world crumbles.

Everything he's ever dreamed of — finding a cure, a future with Newt, the world somehow becoming okay again — evaporates at that second, leaving him with nothing but rage. It boils inside him rapidly, and he can't hold himself to stay calm, can't tell himself not to get out of the damn chair and kick it, so he does just that. He stands in a swift motion and throws the chair aside with a strength he was unknown to, only feeling anger and confusion.

Ava gets on her feet and places his hand on Thomas' wrist but the boy shrugs it off, so harsh it makes the Chancellor startle.

"Is this a game to you?" says Thomas, spit flying everywhere. He's shuddering and the tension is insurmountable. 

Meanwhile, Newt finds himself astounded at Thomas' reaction. Thomas, his Tommy, the one he's been falling for in the last couple of years. The boy who's always been WICKED's favorite, who's always been able to act accordingly and shuts out his emotions — or so he thinks.

"It's your game, Thomas," says Ava in a stern voice.

"Yeah. As if I was the one in charge around here. Do you want to know what I think?" says Thomas, the anger and bitterness in his voice unmistakable now. Ava's heart hurt — seeing the boy she'd grown to love as if he were her own talking to her with so much fury broke her down to the core.

"I think that you're just like the rest of them," continues Thomas. "I might've liked you before — adored you, even — but it's all different now. I won't let you forget this."

Ava can only watch as Thomas makes his exit. A tear trickles down her face, marking the regretful act she has made.

***

"Tommy, are you alright?"

Thomas is on his bunk, his head rested on his hands, clearly looking troubled. It isn't until Newt's merely a few feet away from him when he notices that the boy is crying. Newt wants to tell him that he understands, that he knows how much it hurts, but he can't. It'll ruin everything.

"Yeah," says Thomas, dabbing his hands to the fabric of his pants. "It's just...just some Variable. You don't need to know."

"Okay," says Newt, taking a seat beside him. He radiates a smile to Thomas, the brightest one he can produce right now, but it's not working. Thomas is still upset and trembling and Newt doesn't know how to fix this.

"It's so bad, Newt," says Thomas slowly. His voice is barely a whisper — Newt has to lean in to hear him properly, their faces almost touching. "This is the worst Variable I've ever come across. It's just so cruel. It's...it's not right."

Newt sighs deeply at that, partly because it's true, and he wants to say something about how WICKED is being unfair to Thomas, but he doesn't. He thinks about how things will go wrong if he defies Ava's request of keeping his mouth shut, knowing that everything is going to be different if he says anything to Thomas about it. But he wants to, so much, because he can't stand having to see Thomas so crumbled and weakened. 

But he can't let his feelings interfere with the Trials.

"Whatever it is, Tommy," says Newt, his voice starting to crack. "I'm sure it's for the best. You just have to do what they ask you to. I know you'll find a cure."

"Well, it's gonna be fucking useless if the one person that needs to be cured will be already gone." Thomas snaps.

Newt falters at that, dazed. That has to be him that Thomas is talking about, and Newt can't help but feel a little bubble inside his stomach, because Thomas cares. But then Thomas puts his head on his hands again and Newt doesn't know what to do. So he pretends to be oblivious once again.

"What was that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry," Thomas mumbles. "I just want it all to stop."

There's a silence as Thomas sits there, crumpled, and Newt doesn't feel the urge to comfort him fading, so he gives it another shot.

"Look, Tommy," he begins. "I know that you have to do all these horrible things that WICKED tells you to, and that this is the worst one so far for you, but it's all for the best, alright? You're gonna be a savior. You're gonna help so many people, Tommy, because you're the only one fit for the task. You're gonna be a hero."

"What if I don't want to be a hero?"

"You can't just back out like that. It's your destiny to find a cure," says Newt in a low whisper, his gaze lingering at Thomas, and Thomas' eyes meet his, round and fragile and everything Newt wants.

Out of the blue, Thomas leans in and cradles Newt's face with his right hand, pulling him closer. Subconsciously, Newt closes his eyes, and they kiss.

It's not much. It's short and sweet, but to Newt it's more than enough. Their lips linger for a second of two before they part, with looks of disbelief sparkling in their eyes. Disbelief and giddiness and i-can't-believe-what-we-just-did. Thomas lets out a soft giggle, mostly out of embarrassment more than anything else, but there's a hint of adoration in it too.

They climb onto Newt's bunk and stay there, not really doing anything besides talking and focusing on each other, putting the troubled waters on the back of their minds for a while. Thomas isn't supposed to know that Newt's aware of the Variable anyway, so the sudden comfort makes Newt feel better, even of there's a time-limit to it. He knows now that their feelings are mutual, and that he hasn't been dreaming about the whole thing. 

Thomas' hand keeps on grazing on Newt's, sending shivers down his spine.

To Newt it feels like home.

**Author's Note:**

> hi lovelies!! here's a fic that i've been working on for aaaaages. i know it's an inconvenient time to post it because fever code is out already and almost none of this fic fits with the book, but oh well. i hope you guys enjoyed reading this lil thing! you can find me on twitter (@thominewt) and 8tracks (deathcure). thanks for reading! feedback is greatly appreciated.


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